ABSTRACT
Objective To analyze the advantages of modified retrograde endotracheal intubation and to investigate its application effect in difficult airway opening. Methods Eighteen patients with difficult airways receiving modified retrograde endotracheal intubation admitted to Jinhua Municipal Central Hospital from June 2013 to June 2017 were enrolled. The successful intubation rate, complication rate, average intubation time and typical cases were calculated and analyzed. Results The causes of airway difficulty in 18 patients: there were 7 patients with glottis exposing difficulty due to tongue body hypertrophy, 2 patients with trismus due to tetanus, 5 patients with cervical spinal cord injury and 4 patients with burns. The successful rate of modified retrograde endotracheal intubation was 100% in 18 patients with difficult airway. Only 1 patient had a little bleeding at the puncture site and it was improved after local compression, the complication rate being 5.6% (1/18), and the average intubation time was (3.6±0.8) min. Conclusion Modified retrograde endotracheal intubation is a method easy to be mastered, its material is simple and easily to be acquired, clinically, the successful rate in its application in difficult airway patients is very high and its incidence of complication is very low, so that the technique can be popularized in primary hospitals.